Mint Explainer | Why India is betting big on deepwater oil and gas exploration

What does the scheme offer?

The Centre will provide financial support of up to 50% of the cost of drilling deepwater exploration wells. It involves acquisition and processing of modern offshore seismic data with an outlay of ₹28,534 crore, drilling of 60 deepwater exploration wells with an allocation of ₹43,200 crore, including government support of up to 50% of the eligible drilling cost or ₹675 crore per well; development of common offshore infrastructure hubs with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore to facilitate commercialisation of discoveries; and establishment of oil and gas manufacturing and services zones with an outlay of ₹2,000 crore to promote domestic manufacturing and localization of critical equipment and services, which is currently dominated by global players.